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March Madness and decision making, or why you always pick the wrong teams

The BriefThese articles come from the RelSci 5, our weekly newsletter for and about organizational leaders. Its curated articles and insights revolve around a different theme each week to help you do your job better. Choose the email you want: Business, Finance or Nonprofit. Sign up now!

1. Separating the wheat from the chaff

We’d all like to think that Darwinian principles apply to our businesses—that the strongest, brightest workers will rise to the top while the weakest languish and are eventually selected out of the system. Unfortunately, history and the Peter principle tell us this is not necessarily so. Luckily, a new study offers traits you can look for to separate your best salespeople from your worst, hopefully before the latter does any damage.

2. March decision-making madness

Turns out, even if you don’t ace your company pool during the NCAA tournament, you can still get something out of March Madness—you know, besides the competitive rage and bitter disappointment—namely, a lesson in cognitive biases like the familiarity heuristic (it’s why you keep picking the same loser teams every year).

3. The kings of networking sound off

Last week’s OASIS: Montgomery Summitgathered together industry-leading entrepreneurs, executives and investors to discuss what’s next in business and tech innovation. RelSci founder and CEO Neal Goldman and networking expert Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone, held a panel to discuss the critical importance of relationship capital to high-level organizational success; why giving trumps taking for network health; and how the right connections can get your business off the ground.Get their top tips here.

4. Salix

After a bidding war pitting rivals Valeant Pharmaceuticals against Endo International, pharma company Salix agreed this week to an $11.1 billion buyout by the former. The company, most well-known for its gastrointestinal medications, is the latest in a buyout spree in the pharmaceutical industry. Question is, who’s next?Our other burning questions:

5. Coach your millennials

Are you have trouble managing your younger workers? Trying to figure out what makes millennials tick, and in turn, work smartly and productively? Give them what they want—feedback. Lots and lots of feedback.